Monthly COFFEE Seminars

SCAA Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel

The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel is a valuable tool for all coffee tasters to identify and distinguish between flavors and attributes found in coffees.

Taste is closely related to experience and memory. If you have no experience or memory of a certain taste, it is impossible to identify that taste. The Flavor Wheel helps users build their understanding of flavors by showing which flavors are closely related to others.

The proximity of lines between neighboring flavors on the wheel describes the similarity in flavors, with larger gaps between lines designating less similarity with neighboring flavors. For example, the flavor “Rose” is more similar to “Jasmine” than “Rose” is to “Chamomile.” Likewise, “Chamomile” is much more closely related to “Rose” than it is to “Honey.”

How to Use the Flavor Wheel

Work from the inside out!

After identifying a general flavor note from the inner circle, work outwards getting more and more specific as you move away from the center.

Build your coffee vocabulary!

When you find a flavor note in the outer ring, look at the flavors close by. These flavors are closely associated, and can help to build your coffee vocabulary.

Think outside the box!

Don’t be afraid to say odd flavors you taste. Declare them proudly!

Talk to a friend!

Every person’s palate and sensory experience is different. Discussing what you taste with a friend may help you identify flavors you did not initially notice, broadening your tasting experience.